Hunted
by child-dragon
Summary: To the frozen north of Winterspring, a game of cat and mouse is being played, and not all of the participants are aware of their role.


Rem didn't think too highly of the tauren. It was an instinctive thing. Even if they were on neutral ground – with the goblin bouncers somehow managing to loom in every corner despite their height – Rem just couldn't find it in him to trust that the creature wouldn't try something. It was senseless paranoia, he told himself. Still, he just couldn't find it within him to relax in the presence of a two-legged cow with biceps as big as his head.

"If you are a hunter of any renown, human," Storm Shadowhoof was saying, "Then surely you plan to test your skill in these lands."

Rem nodded slightly. How could he not? Hell, he'd prepared for this journey for months, gathering his gear and getting it ready for cold weather. Winterspring was said to be unforgiving and anyone venturing outside Everlook had to fend for themselves against the elements and the vast expanse of snows. It was easy for an inexperienced person to get caught on those mountainsides during a snowstorm and freeze. So he had heard.

Despite the danger, he had to come. He'd been through the jungles of Stranglethorn, the wastes of the south, and now the north called to him to test himself. And the goblins had pointed him to the tauren, working with hides outside in the cold, a thin mist from the morning's flurries still coating his horns.

"The bear is called Ursius," the tauren continued, "He is old and knows these lands. He knows those that would hunt him and many a hunter has found himself at the mercy of his claws. If you are ready, go and hunt him. To the north."

Rem nodded, a short jerk of his head, and the tauren returned to his work, large hands deliberate in their motions. There. He had his task – he'd find the bear, take its hide, and show that not even the north could stop the ingenuity and cunning of the hunt. He paid for a night's stay at Everlook's only inn and didn't even grumble about the price-gouging goblins. There were two other humans staying there and one troll that seemed to be sleeping constantly. He didn't speak to them, just ate his evening meal in silence and retired for the night. The next morning he woke with the sun and checked his gear. His rifle was clean and primed, his ammo was at his belt, and his thick cloak would keep him warm but not hamper his movements. He would make a short excursion to get a feel for the land and return to Everlook well before sundown. The hunt could start in earnest then.

The sky stayed clear which Rem soon found was a bit of a hindrance. The sun reflected off the snow and it seemed like wherever he looked it was in his eyes. The snow was thick and soft and clung to his legs and he trudged through it. In some places it came up to his knees and by midday his legs were soaked. He considered turning around early as he ate his lunch in the shelter of some pines.

He found fresh tracks soon after he finished his meal. That kept him out the rest of the day and he saw that the tauren was watching him as he returned to Everlook. There was a change in his expression that Rem couldn't place. How did one read a cow's emotions, anyway?

The next day Rem came across one of the bears. It was digging through some snow at the base of a pine and he brought his rifle up and aimed for the skull. The first shot landed solidly in the muscle around its shoulder and only made it angry. The second shot scored in the chest and it slid to a stop with a bellow, its head drooping on the snow with eyes and mouth open. Rem skinned the bear hurriedly, unnerved by the silence that had been brought on by his gunshot. It was like Winterspring itself had hushed into hiding and was now watching his every move. He brought the hide to the tauren that evening who solemnly shook his head and said it was not Ursius, but he would still buy the hide off him.

Rem doubted he would be so lucky to find the bear on his second day.

A few more days passed. Rem downed a chimera and after that frenzied battle found the silence even more oppressive. He covered his wounds – burns from the beast's lightning and some gashes across his arm – quickly and skinned the thing with even more haste, to the point he ruined the hide and left it worthless. He swore and hiked back to Everlook in frustration. It was like something was shadowing his every move now and the tauren's words echoed in his mind. Ursius would become the hunter of those that would dare hunt him. He shivered the whole way back and blamed it on the pain of the lightning burn.

Rem was a stubborn man, a determined one. Hunting was his passion, his chance to prove himself against the fury of the wilds and the beasts that inhabited. The tauren might call it a sacred thing but for him, there was nothing sacred about this. It was a test, a challenge, a way to bare the steel of his soul and see if it was found wanting. So he laid himself up with his injuries for as little time as possible before returning to the hunt. His money was still holding out, even with the goblins overcharging for every little thing, and he would not leave Winterspring empty-handed. Let Ursius hunt him, then. It wouldn't be the first beast that had tried that and Rem believed with every bit of his being that Ursius would not be the last. He would find the bear… or the bear would find him. Either way, he would lay that skin before Storm Shadowhoof and everyone else in this desolate outpost.

The tauren stopped him that morning as he was about to leave. He had that strange look on his face and after a moment at staring at Storm's eyes Rem finally placed it. Concern. For him? Surely not.

"You're being hunted," the tauren rumbled.

"I know," Rem replied sharply, a bit irritated at the delay, "Ursius knows I'm out there."

"Not just Ursius."

For a moment the two looked at each other, and then Rem simply shrugged and turned away. The tauren's shadow completely enveloped his own and the human shook his head and started off. The snow was fresh from a small flurry last night but it was not deep. There were already a number of tracks from the wildlife. Rem set off for the north. He'd seen what might have been a cave the last time he was out and he figured he could investigate that and see if it was occupied by bear or yeti. Hopefully bear.

Clouds rolled in after about an hour. They were soft gray and threatened a steady snow later in the day but not a blizzard. Rem decided to chance it and stay out. He made as good of time as he could. He wanted to find the cave before snow started to cover up any tracks that were left.

It was a bear cave. Rem searched the exterior until he found what he wanted – prints, larger than any bear he'd seen before. He let out a nervous breath and started off after them. They ranged wide, seemingly at random, and finally the skies broke and a steady drizzle of snow wafted about him. Rem moved faster, almost careless in his haste. This was the closest he'd gotten. He wasn't going to lose it.

The tracks led up a gentle slope, curving up towards the summit of a low mountain range. He lost the path. Breathing heavy, he paused to wipe some sweat off his brow. The climb had been hard and his gun felt heavy in his hands. Still, he didn't dare put it down. As quietly as he could, he loaded it. He had lost Ursius's trail and the bear was as much as a hunter as him.

His warning came in the form of sliding snow. He caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye and turned, snapping the gun up to track on the charging bear. Ursius was huge, larger than he had expected, and it roared when it saw the gun. The snow slid under its huge paws, tumbling down the slope. Rem stood his ground and fired. Reloaded. Fired again. Each bullet buried into Ursius's thick fur but it only seemed to anger the bear, which was growing larger every second. It would be on him in a moment.

A third shot. Then the bear collided with the human and Rem felt it clamp jaws around his raised forearm. Bone shattered and he screamed. He let the pain flow through him, used it to drive his movements. He drew his knife and still screaming in pain and defiance stabbed the bear in its thick ruff. Stabbed again. This time Ursius was the one to roar. Hot blood dripped on his face and the bear huffed, its body suddenly going limp. With a groan Ursius collapsed and the snow melted where the blood from its torn neck pooled. Panting and feeling faint Rem pulled himself out from under it, gritting his teeth against the arm. He kept it tucked close to his chest. He had to get it splinted, somehow, and then get back to Everlook. The bear's hide could wait. He looked about for some landmarks so he could return here to skin the beast tomorrow.

His gaze froze on the figure that had risen smoothly out of the snow, the white cloak that had kept him hidden falling away. The troll's blue skin stood bright against the snow and the red feathers of his arrows were even brighter. The two regarded each other, Rem in disbelief, the troll in quiet satisfaction. He let go of the bowstring.

The arrow hit Rem in the chest. He was knocked back by the impact, his breath exiting his lungs in one woosh. For a moment he thought of the tauren. He was being hunted. A second arrow. His gun fell from his hand.

Rem's failure to return to Everlook was noticed but not commented upon. The troll crouched near Storm Shadowhoof who had busied himself in examining the fur of Ursius.

"Be a shame bout dat bear," the troll said, "But ey, someone always wan' ta be da best aroun'. If not em, someone else come alon' and kill dat bear."

"So long as the hunt was honorable," Storm rumbled. The troll shrugged.

"He dead righ' after he make es greatest kill. Dat be honorable enough." He spat into the snow. "Enough for me."

"Come back tomorrow," Storm said, folding up the fur, "I will tell you of a chimera that has evaded the hunt for many years. You can test yourself against that."

The troll stood and languidly made his way back to the warm inn. Storm watched him go. He had warned the human as best he could. It was the human's fault that he had not been more aware of his surroundings, not open to the idea that he could have been tracked as prey himself. He snorted in the cold air, creating a small cloud of vapor, and hefted the pile of hides onto his shoulder. He had to see about getting these on the next caravan south. The sky was opening up and starting to snow in earnest now and soon yet another blanket would coat Winterspring.


End file.
